GME corners safety market with AIS

by Sarah Ruggiero on 6 Aug 2010 With an exhibition space packed full of innovative electronics, GME Communications came to the Sydney International Boat Show prepared to show visitors the latest advances in marine technology.

'So far the boat show has been fantastic,' said Ian Campbell, a representative for GRE. 'If the past two days are anything to go off of we’re going to have a pretty good show.'

According to Campbell GME’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) products have attracted the majority of visitor interest.

'We have terrific interest,' said Campbell. 'If we’ve had 10 inquiries, eight of them have been about AIS.'

The three AIS products being marketed at the Show include the AISS120 antenna splitter, AIST120 AIS Transceiver, and AISR120 AIS dual channel receiver.

The AISS120 Active Antenna Splitter is a zero loss active VHF antenna splitter and allows standard marine VHF antennas to serve both the AIS device and VHF radio without any degradation of signal.

The AISR120 receives both static and dynamic information from both AIS class A and B vessels, while also increasing navigation accuracy within VHF range.

The AIST120 is considered GME's 'safety beacon'. The device broadcasts both static and dynamic information to any vessel in range, serving as a navigation tool especially in less than perfect conditions. The AIST120 transmits ship names, size, registration, speed, course and location coordinates.

'These products are relatively new to Australia, but have been in Europe for the past ten years,' said Campbell. 'With advances in technology, they’ve come down in price and are more affordable to the Australian market.'

As one of the fastest growing aspects of the marine industry, AIS has become an invaluable safety feature to any boat. Equipped with collision avoidance software and radio transponder, AIS technology serves as an electronic safety device.

'We’re really pleased about,' said Campbell. 'It’s great when a new product is released and people want to know about it.'

For more information about GME products please visit http://www.gme.net.au/